Military robocopters gain pirate ship recognition technology

The US Navy has announced plans to test a new 3D
sensor system that can be attached to an unmanned helicopter to help swiftly and accurately identify pirate
vessels lurking among legitimate shipping.

The sensor package, called the Multi-Mode Sensor Seeker (MMSS) comprises of high definition
cameras, mid-wave infrared sensors and laser radar (Ladar)
technology. This will be placed into a robotic helicopter called
Fire Scout, which will then be able to autonomously identify small
boats on the water and reduce the workload of sailors operating it
from control stations on Navy ships.

Ken Heeke, programme officer at the Office of Naval Research's
Naval Air Warfare and Weapons Department, explains: "Sailors who
control robotic systems can become overloaded with data, often
sifting through hours of streaming video searching for a single
ship."

The MMSS system features automatic target recognitions software
that allows the robocopter to distinguish target boats in congested
coastal waters with Ladar, cross-referencing the precise dimensions
of the boats with a database of known pirate ships. That
information can then be sent to human operators who can analyse the
3D images of the vessels.

Piracy endangers billions of dollars worth of cargo each year.
In the first quarter of 2012 there were 87 attacks on vessels
worldwide, with 92 people taken hostage, according to the ICC International Maritime Bureau. There are currently 13
vessels being held in the coast of Somalia alone, with 197 hostages
aboard.

The software has been integrated into the robocopter by an
international team including BAE Systems, the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division
NAWCD, UK defence technology company Raytheon and Utah State
University.

The system will be thoroughly tested off the coast of California
in the summer.